Robot Missionaries have been Called!
Many of the active Mormons I meet actually don't know much about how Mormons are viewed by outsiders because we are trained not to listen to “anti-Mormon” material—posts, videos, writings, concepts that are not in support of the religion. Even my writing could be taken as “not of the spirit” in the way I don't explicitly testify that I know the LDS/Mormon church is true in my writings.
Most Mormons have never seen the musical made about their cherished book. Few have read the stories of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young told from a secular point of view. I have to imagine they must often feel stuck in a bind as they seek information on what might have actually happened in their own history or how Mormonism has evolved.
As an active creator on several social media platforms, and a very active tech investor here in the state of Utah, I have a religious conversation daily with people who are active Mormon, ex-Mormon, and new to Utah, learning about Mormons and their beliefs and practices.
I'm so excited to share what a new friend of mine has created. It is a chatbot that acts as a digital missionary for the LDS/Mormon Church. Is it biased? Of course, most LLM/Chatbots are. This AI will link to faithful websites, and answers are all “safe” with apologetic tones. It is way more informative than what you will get from most members if you ask them questions about their religion.
I find this bot very interesting as it talks about some of the less-known concepts like the “second anointing” or “how many wives did Joseph Smith have.” And you will get an answer that talks straight with some links and “facts.”
I would have loved to have this as a missionary in Italy to learn from and help others learn too, as it is way more versed than an 18-year-old trying to explain concepts they have never heard.
I'll bet there are a thousand Mormons that read my daily email, so let me know what you think about this innovation in proselytizing.
SP
Here is an excerpt from a simple question asked:
I know some leave the church or don’t respect it because they come across historical information like this example and think of it as absolute fact. Really appreciate the background perspective of the AI here. Perhaps a bit bias in its explanation as you say, but we can trust ourselves to discern on our own,no? Makes me think about the bias I see in the popular chat bots, such as bias toward a political stance, etc. I personally don’t like seeing it when it is contrary to my own creed, and yet I still find insight from what is produced.
Individual progress in terms of 'line upon line, precept upon precept'. No living person is immune to wrong turns. The question then becomes are wrong turns necessarily a bad thing?
Given directions I should be able to arrive at a destination with little delay. Should I follow another route, whether willing, mistaken or misguided, unintended even unexpected distraction and longer paths delay our progress toward that goal. Likewise, if the original directions are tainted.
It can also be said that wrong turns give experience and strengthen understanding.
To your own point, given information, seeds are planted that previously did not exist. They then must be given opportunity to grow to know if the seed was progress.